And now, the Quartet of the Longbeards present.....

The Story of the Muller Brothers Quartets

Here we present one of our favorite string quartet stories. Actually, this is the first of several that we hope to bring to you here on our homepage, wherein we will reveal to you some of the true legends of the great string quartets who performed during the days before string quartet ensembles as we know them today became 'superstars,' if you will. In any case, we have long felt that the tale of the Muller family has long been one of the sensible stories ever told regarding any single group of people who dared to shape the genre called chamber music; alas, it saddens us that this tale has no happy ending. Thus far, no known descendants of Karl Friedrich Muller the Younger are around to perpetuate the dynasty's legacy; if, however, there are any of you out there who believe or know otherwise, we invite you to contact us, and let us know.

And now, our story.....

During two separate periods in the history of German chamber music, a family named Muller came into prominence as one of the leading string quartet ensembles of the era. Patriarch of the family was one Aegidius Christoph Muller (b. Gorsbach, 2 July 1765-d. Brunswick, 14 August 1841), whose four sons, under his personal guidance and training, established their own string quartet. This foursome --- the Original Muller Brothers Quartet --- consisted of: Karl Friedrich Muller (b. Brunswick, 11 November 1791-d. Brunswick, 4 April 1873), first violin; Franz Ferdinand Georg Muller (b. Brunswick, 30 July 1801-d. Brunswick, 22 May 1855), second violin; Theodor Heinrich Gustav Muller (b. Brunswick, 3 December 1799- d. Brunswick, 7 September 1855), viola; and August Theodor Muller (b. Brunswick, 27 August 1802-d. Brunswick, 20 October 1875), cello.

When Karl, Georg, Gustav and Theodor were all approximately in their mid-20s to early 30s, they joined the Court Orchestra of the then-reigning Duke of Brunswick, with Karl serving as Konzertmeister and Georg as Kapellmeister. Gustav and Theodor, meanwhile, became what we would today call 'first-chair musicians' in the viola and cello sections, respectively.

Unfortunately, their lives as musicians in the service of the Duke were not exactly comfortable ones. For one thing, any musician under contract to His Lordship the Duke was strictly forbidden to perform in public. To Aegidius Muller, this amounted to a personal slap in the face, for it had been his lifelong dream to see his four sons performing together as a working string quartet. Thus, apparently determined to avenge himself upon the Duke and his foul contract, Aegidius took it upon himself to train his boys in the fine art of string quartet performance. Meeting in secret on certain nights, Karl, Georg, Gustav and Theodor studied long and hard under their father's watchful eye. Finally, in 1830, the brothers resigned from their posts in the Duke's Orchestra, having emassed enough confidence --- especially within themselves --- to make their mark upon the world.

And so, the following year, in Hamburg, the Muller Brothers String Quartet presented its very first recital! It proved to be a rousing success..... so much so that one year later, the boys staged another recital, this one in Berlin. It, too, proved successful; the year after that, they played an encore at Berlin. Aegidius Christoph Muller's dream had at last come true: his sons had suddenly become THE phenomenon of Germany's chamber music scene!

With three successful recitals to their credit, it soon became apparent to the Muller Brothers that there was now an unprecedented demand to see and hear even more of them. This, of course, made the logical decision inevitable: A TOUR! Before long, the boys had become the first string quartet from Germany to tour extensively on a regular basis. Their travels took them through Germany's finest cities --- Frankfurt, Dresden, Leipzig, Halle, Dusseldorf, Stuttgart, Halberstadt, Cologne, Mainz, Wiesbaden, Heidelberg --- and soon, the Mullers had expanded their tours, visiting the greatest cities of France, Denmark, Holland --- and even Russia!

The Mullers had long been disciples of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven; thus it was not a surprise to the average listener that the majority of the quartet's repertoire was centered on works by those three composers. One primary reason for the loyalty of Karl, Georg, Gustav and Theodor to these three giants of string quartet composition might have to do with the fact that the boys often played the works of Franz, Wolfgang and Ludwig not only on tour, but also during recitals in their hometown of Brunswick, as well as at the Mullers' family homestead, located somewhere along the outskirts of that village. In those days, after all, quartet members still respected the ritual of playing for their own sake, whenever such occasions presented themselves.

This is not to say that the Mullers did not make much music during the off-season. Theodor, for example, would eventually establish, over a period of 40 years, a discerning reputation as a demanding but wise Professor of Cello Studies at Brunswick's venerable Hochshule fur Musik. In fact, some of his pupils would eventually go on to become virtuoso cellists in their own right: Bernhard Cossman, Wilhelm Fitzenhagen, Robert Hausman --- who would later join Joseph Joachim's own inimitable Quartet --- and Hausman's own nephew, Wilhelm Muller (no relation?).

By 1850, the Muller Brothers Quartet had existed for some two decades. Aegidius Christoph, the boys' father, was now dead; however, the lads did take some comfort in knowing that they had fulfilled their father's dream. And yet still, Karl, Georg, Gustav and Theodor carried on, spreading the virtues of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven everywhere they went --- and always returning home to Brunswick, where they could often spend time with fellow family members, perform in concert in their home city whenever the occasion demanded..... and, if they so chose, the boys could retreat to the family's Music Room at the Muller estate, for the opportunity of playing just for themselves!

Alas, it all came to an end when Georg died on 22nd May 1855. Fourteen years earlier, as Aegidius Muller lay upon his own deathbed, the boys had promised their dear father that, should anything happen to any of the four of them at any time, the Muller Brothers Quartet would be immediately --- and irrevocably --- disbanded. With Georg's death, that sad promise was indeed fulfilled. Four months later, on 7th September 1855, Gustav passed away as well.

In all, the Muller Brothers Quartet had played for 25 years. By 1856, the two surviving Brothers, Karl and Theodor, had married into other families, and were soon raising their own children. Karl in particular, in a bizarre and incredibly rare twist of fate, was himself to become the father of four sons; and when the four got wind of the news about their uncle Gustav passing away, they met in secret, and resolved to continue the traditions of string quartet performance that had been begun by their father and his three brothers.

And so, like the Phoenix rising anew from the ashes, the New Muller Brothers Quartet began to emerge upon Germany's chamber music scene --- achieving the same distinguished level of ensemble playing that had long characterized the original. The new quartet's roster consisted of: Karl Friedrich Muller the Younger (b. Brunswick, 14 April 1829-d. Stuttgart, 11 November 1907), first violin; Hugo Muller (b. Brunswick, 21 September 1832-d. Brunswick, 26 June 1886), second violin; Bernhard Muller (b.Brunswick, 21 September 1832-d. Rostock, 4 September 1895), viola; and Wilhelm Muller (b. Brunswick, 1 June 1834-d. NYC, September 1897), cello.

Karl the Younger, Hugo, Bernhard and Wilhelm officially began their quartet career when they were appointed by His Lordship the Duke of Meiningen to serve as the Court's Quartet-in-Residence. The decade during which the boys served in this role was, unquestionably, the most joyous ten years of their young lives. Their performances at Court soon made them the talk of the Meiningen nobility; but in addition, unlike the earlier Muller Brothers, the new quartet was granted more freedom to publicly play. Out of this happy formula sprang a series of tours that would see Karl the Younger, Hugo, Bernhard and Wilhelm receiving grateful applause from fans in France, Denmark, Russia --- and, of course, all of Germany's major cities!

Then, beginning in 1866, the quartet spent a few years performing and teaching at Wiesbaden; eventually, the foursome settled in the smaller village of Rostock. There, the second Muller Brothers Quartet became a well-respected ensemble --- indeed, they even became members of the town's resident Orchestra, Karl the Younger assuming the mantle of Kapellmeister, and his three brothers taking 'first-chair' positions in the Orchestra's string section. Some students of the Muller dynasty's history have stated that on those occasions when Karl could not join his brothers on tour, Leopold Auer often filled in as first violinist. But, by and large, almost every recital they played in basically featured all four brothers, each and every one of them all present and accounted for.

By 1873, Karl the Younger had taken the name Karl Muller-Berghaus, out of deference to the wishes of his wife, the soprano Elvira Berghaus, whom he had recently married. Meanwhile, the second Muller Brothers Quartet had, by this same period, been performing together for approximately 16 years. In that short span of time, according to many of this era's leading connoisseurs of chamber music, the boys' attention to 'proper' ensemble playing was undeniable; however, certain works in the group's repertoire had been dismissed by some so-called quartet scholars as "unsuitable." As a result, many quartet historians often believe that the new Muller Brothers never truly achieved the status and popularity that had been the hallmark of the original Mullers.

In 1873, Wilhelm accepted the invitation of the keepers of the Royal Chapel of Berlin to succeed the late Julius de Sweerts as solo cellist of the Chapel's resident Orchestra. Indeed, Wilhelm had already accepted the post of Professor of Cello Studies at Berlin's renowned Hochschule fur Musik. It was during his tenure at das Hochschule that Wilhelm would encounter legendary violinist Joseph Joachim --- the most brilliant violin virtuoso of his day --- and ultimately, Wilhelm would become the founding cellist of the Joachim Quartet.

Wilhelm's duties in Berlin, along with Karl the Younger's increasing devotion to Elvira --- and certain other important factors --- were instrumental in bringing about the dissolution of the second Muller Brothers Quartet, towards the end of 1873. After the four brothers went their separate ways, Karl the Younger and his wife lived in houses at both Stuttgart and Hamburg. In the intervening years, Karl was to become a noted composer of some refute, and his output consisted of operettas, cantatas, overtures, symphonies, a short library of chamber works for various ensembles --- and even an entire concerto for violin and orchestra!

And yet, in spite of all this, time was, alas, running out for the Muller dynasty. By 1901, Karl Friedrich Muller the Younger, also known as Karl Muller-Berghaus, had completely outlived his three brothers. Although he continued to play the violin on occasion, he had ostensibly retired from the world community of classical music. He died at Stuttgart, on 11th November 1907 --- on what would have been his father's one hundred and tenth birthday --- and with that death, the Muller family's contribution to chamber music history had drawn to its close.

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